White Mountains

Pictures by QT Luong

The White Mountains of California are a small mountain range that runs along the eastern side of the upper Owens Valley, just across from the Sierra Nevada. The upper slopes hold some of the most easily accessible groves of Bristlecone Pine trees. Those trees can reach an age far greater than that of any other living thing known - up to nearly 5,000 years. Between cold temperatures, high winds, and short growing seasons, the trees grow very slowly, creating extremely dense wood with twisted shapes which is very resistant to invasion and decay. One of the bristlecone pines of the White Mountains, nicknamed 'Methuselah', is the oldest known tree in the world, about 4,700 years old.

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